Heel retaining means for ski binding



April 25, 1961 H. w. TAGGART HEEL RETAINING MEANS FOR sKI BINDING Filed Aug. 25, 1958 NN w w 9.

HARRY W. TAGGART ATTORNEY United States Patent} HEEL RETAINING MEANS FOR SKI BINDING Harry W. Taggart, Detroit, Mich. (50 Arquilla Drive, Chicago Heights, Ill.)

Filed Aug. 25, 1958, Ser. No. 756,892

1 Claim. (Cl. 28011.35)

This invention relates to a binding for retaining a skiers boot fixedly to his skis and more particularly to such a binding which will release the ski from the boot when pressures are exerted between the ski and the boot which might cause harm to the skier.

Bindings which are fixed on a ski and are adapted to retain a skiers boot and to release that boot at such times as potentially harmful pressures are exerted between the boot and the ski are well known. One form of such binding utilizes separate heel and toe retaining plate mechanisms, each of which is adapted to release the boot when excessive pressures are exerted on it. The heel retaining mechanism comprises a two member toggle linkage which has its extreme ends and its joint pivotable so that it may assume either of two rest positions. The force which is required to change the linkage from one position to the other may be adjusted by varying the coiled length of a spring. When the linkage is in one position it retains the boot to the ski and when in the other position it releases the boot.

The present invention relates to such a binding of novel structure which provides several important advantages.

a The binding provides a high measure of safety to the wearer. because it will release the skiers boot when dangerous pressure is exerted practically independent of the angle which that pressure takes. The binding configuration is such that skier may affix his boot to the ski by simply aligning his boot with respect to the binding and exerting heel pressure thereon. It is not necessary for the skier to perform anylmanual operations in order to accomplish the attachment. Similarly, the skier may remove his boot from the ski by properly manipulating a ski pole, which is normally carried during skiing, with respect to the binding. This release may be affected without the skier assuming a bent position.

"The simplicity of construction of the present binding allows it to be manufactured at a low cost and minimizes the possibility of mechanical failure.

. Other advantages, objects, and applications of present invention will be made clear by the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: vi 1 Figure 1 is a planview of the present binding as attached. to a ski and indicates the relation of the ski boot thereto in phantom lines;

Figure 2 is an elevation view of the binding attached to the ski and with the ski boot in attached position; and Figure 3 is a partial elevation view as in Figure 2 indicating the binding in a released position. v 7

The binding is fixedlyattached to a ski (of which a portion is shown) 10 at a position on the ski which is determined by-the length of the ski and the height and weight distribution of the skier.

The portion of the binding which retains the toe of the ski boot on the ski is generally indicated at 12. It includes an upright bracket 14 which is attached to the ski 2,981,547 Patented Apr. 25, 1961 ice 10 by screws 16. A cylindrical threaded member 18 passes through a central hole in the vertically upright section of the bracket 14 and is adjustably maintained therein by two nuts 20 and 22 which are disposed on opposite sides of the bracket 14 in a gripping relation thereto. Midway along the length of the rod 18 a support bracket 24 is retained thereon by a pair of nuts 26 which thread on the rod 18 on opposite sides of the bracket 24 so as to fixedly retain it. At its extreme ends the bracket 24 maintains two pins 28 at angles that are slightly declining with respect to the horizontal and converging with respect to one another. A pair of springs 30 slip over the pins 28 so as to be retained thereon. The free ends of the springs 30 rest in grooves in a toe retaining plate 32 which is pivotably supported on the flanged end 34 of the threaded rod 18. The toe retaining plate 32 has an upper lip 36 which is adapted to encircle the top edge of the sole of the skiers boot 38 and thereby retain the boot. The extreme edges of the toe retaining plate 32 are curved to conform with the contour of the sole of the boot so that the plate retains the boot on its top, its forward edge, and a small section of each of its sides.

Since the retaining plate 36 is pivotably attached to the flanged end 34 of the rod 18, pressures exerted on it by the boot may cause it to move in any direction against the force of the springs 30 and thereby release the toe of the boot. The forces which are required to accomplish this release may be adjusted by varying the position of the bracket 24 along the threaded rod 18 by means of thenuts 26 and also by varying the position of the rod itself with respect to the bracket 14 by means of the nuts 20 and 22.

It is to be understood that the novelty of the present invention does not reside in the toe retaining mechanism but rather in the heel retaining mechanism, subsequently to be described, and in its manner of cooperation with the toe retaining bracket. Any of a number of toe retaining brackets now known may be utilized with the present invention. The only requirement placed on them is that the toe of the boot must slip into them and thatthey must release the toe when abnormal pressures are exerted upon them.

The heel retaining mechanism is built around a bracket 50 which is fixed to the skiby four screws 52 which pass through slotted holes 54 in the bracket. The slotted holes 54 allow the exact longitudinal position of the bracket 50 with respect to the ski to be adjusted. A retaining plate 56 is attached to the edge of the ski by two screws 58 which operate in slotted holes that allow the plate to be adjusted traversely with respect to the ski. The inner end of the plate 56 has a saw tooth edge 60 which interacts with a similar edge on the bracket 50 to retain the bracket 50 against longitudinal movement with respect to the ski 10 when forces applied by the boot act in such a direction as to cause that movement.

At its right hand end as viewed in the figures thebracket 50 terminates in an upstanding vertical support member 62. The member 62 has a central hole which receives a threaded rod 64 in a non-threading manner, that is, the rod 64 has a wide degree of sidewise movement within the central hole in the member 62. Midway along the length of the rod 64 a nut 66 and a washer 68 retain a helical spring 70 between themselves and the vertical member 62. The spring 70, therefore, acts to force the rod 64 toward the left in the figures. At its left end the rod 64 terminates in a traverse cylindrical member 72 which is reduced indiameter at its extreme ends to form two pins 74.

The pins 74 loosely bear within holes in a pair of cam members 76 which are disposed in parallel relationship to one another on opposite sides of the rod 64. The

cam members 76 include forward redirected protruding section 78 and concave lower section 80. They are formed of sheet material.

The cams 76 are each pivotably supported on pins 82 which extend out in a horizontal attitude from opposite sides of a support member 84 which rises above the base bracket 50. The support member 84 has parallel opposed sides and a front (left edge of the figures) which is inclined so as to slant away from the boot as it rises. The parallel opposed sides of the support member 84 represent a pair of parallel vertical surfaces, which might be obtained in a manner other than that disclosed in this preferred embodiment. In the embodiment shown the rear surface slopes in a complementary manner to the forward surface, however, the exact disposition of this rear surface is a matter of choice.

An L-shape plate 86 is attached to the bottom and rear of the ski boot which is to be retained in the binding. The plate 86 has a vertically disposed groove with parallel sides 88 cut in its rear surface. The edges of the vertical groove 88 represent a pair of opposing vertical side walls, which might also be obtained in manners other than that disclosed in this preferred embodiment. The width of the groove 38 is slightly greater than the width of the bracket 84.

Operation The threaded bars 64 and the cam members 76 along with their pivotable joints 74, their pivotably restrained ends 82, and their resiliently restrained pivotable end in the plate 62, form a two bar toggle linkage which has two positions of rest. As shown in Figure 2 one position of rest occurs when the bearing joint 74 is aligned above the bearing 82; and the second position of rest occurs when the bearing joint 74 is below the bearing 82 as shown in Figure 3. The force which is exerted on the under side of the projecting edges 78 of the cams 76 will tend to cause the linkage to move from the closed position of Figure 2 to the open position of Figure 3; however, the amount of force which is required to cause this opening may be adjusted by varying the tension on the spring 70 through use of the nut 66. Similarly, when the linkage is open as in Figure 3, forces on the concave surfaces 80 of the earns 76 tend to move the linkage to a closed position. However, the linkage does not move until a sufficient force is exerted to overcome the bias caused by the spring 70. As the linkage moves from an open to a closed position, and vice versa, the threaded rods 64 move toward the right in the drawings overcoming the force of the spring 70.

As is seen in Figure 3 the heel retaining linkage is initially in an open position when the ski boot is to be disposed within it. The toe of the sole of the boot 38 is placed beneath the overhanging lip 36 of the toe retaining plate 32 with the heel of the boot raised above the heel retaining mechanism. The slot 88 in the heel plate is aligned with the post 84 so that the edges of the groove 88 are disposed on either side of the edges of the post. The heel is then lowered with a stamping motion.

The groove 88 mates with the post 84 to force the entire boot forward placing the toe retaining mechanism in a biased position. As the corner of the heel plate 86 comes in contact with the concave surfaces 80 of the two earns 76, the cams are forced in a counterclockwise direction into a closed position as shown in Figure 2. In this position the projecting forward edges 78 of the two cams 76 are disposed over the top edge of the heel plate 86. The groove 88 surrounds the post 84 at the point of the post which is immediately adjacent to the ski.

Since the heel plate is supported at right angles with respect to the ski and the post 84 slants away from this ski only their bottom edges are in immediate proximate contact.

The heel retaining mechanism thus prevents the heel from being raised off of the ski because of the position of the forward projecting edges of thecam 76 and also prevents a direct sidewise movement because of the contact between the groove 88 and the post 84. Also, any motion which combines the two at an angle somewhere between them is prevented.

It may immediately be recognized that any direct upward force on the heel plate 86 against the forward projecting edges 7 8 of the cam 76 which is of sufficient force to overcome the tension of the spring will cause the heel retaining mechanism to open and release the boot. Similarly, any direct sidewise motion which is coupled by a forward force on the boot which allows the toe to move forward with respect to the skis sufiiciently to unmate the groove 88 and the post 84 will allow the boot to be released in the torsional direction. If a force which has a component uplift is combined with a sidewise force and their magnitude is sufficient to either force the toe forward against the toe retaining mechanism or raise the heel retaining mechanism the boot will also be released.

It is to be emphasized that the coupling between the rod 64 and the two earns 76 at the joint 74 is a relatively loose one so that one cam may pivot to a certain degree about its suspension point 82 without directly moving the other cam 76. Because of this a motion which lifts one edge of the heel at an angle may cause the linkage to open if its force is sufiicient. This provides a greater degree of safety to the heel retaining mechanism.

When the skier desires to remove his boot from the binding in a normal manner he may utilize his ski pole to cock the mechanism. This may be done by placing the point of the ski pole in a circular depression 90 in the threaded rod 64. A downward force on the pole will cause the binding to open.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A binding for retaining a boot to a ski and for releasing the boot when certain abnormal forces are exercised between it and the ski, comprising, in combination: a toe retaining mechanism attached to the upper horizontal surface of said ski; a plate attached to and behind and below the heel of the boot; a pair of opposing vertical side walls on the rear of said plate; an upright member fixedly attached to the upper surface of said ski rearwardly of the toe retaining mechanism and having a pair of parallel vertical surfaces which combine to have a width slightly less than the parallel surfaces on the rear of said heel plate, said upright member having a forward face which slants away from said toe plate as it increases its elevation with respect to said ski; a pair of cam members pivotably supported on the parallel vertical faces of the'upright member for movement in parallel planes with respect to said ski and having forward projections thereon for engagement with said heel plate; and a toggle mechanism which operates to hold said cams in either a bootreleasing or a boot-holding position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,573,955 Cubberley Nov. 6, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 185,728 Austria May 25, 1956 157,065 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1932 185,701 Switzerland Mar. 1, 1937 

